Graviera cheese is a popular Greek cheese known for its rich, nutty flavor and smooth texture. However, it can be difficult to find outside of Mediterranean cuisine shops or Greek specialty stores.
If you can't get your hands on authentic graviera, don't worry - there are plenty of excellent graviera cheese substitutes available!
What is Graviera Cheese?
Graviera is a brined, semi-hard sheep milk cheese originating from the Aegean island of Naxos in Greece. It has a smooth, creamy texture and a mildly sweet, nutty flavor profile, with salty undertones.
The cheese is ripened for a minimum of 3 months up to a year, with aging time impacting the intensity of flavor. Young graviera tastes lighter and milder, while longer-aged varieties develop a sharper, more robust taste.
This versatile Greek cheese works well in various dishes, from salads and pastas to grilled meat and seafood. When baked, graviera becomes soft and stringy, making it perfect for pies like the classic Greek spinach and cheese pie spanakopita.
Key Takeaway: Graviera is a brined sheep milk cheese from Greece with a nutty, mildly sweet flavor. It has a smooth, creamy texture that melts beautifully when baked.
Why Substitute Graviera Cheese?
There are several reasons you may need a stand-in for graviera cheese:
- Availability: Authentic graviera can be hard to source outside specialty stores. Substitutes offer more accessible alternatives.
- Affordability: Imported graviera is relatively expensive. Substitutes provide cheaper options if you're on a budget.
- Dietary restrictions: If you follow a vegetarian, vegan, or lactose-free diet, you'll need non-dairy replacements for this sheep milk cheese.
- Flavor preferences: Although delicious, graviera's distinctive nutty sweetness may not suit all palates. Substitutes allow you to tailor the flavor profile to your tastes.
- Texture variations: Depending on the dish, you may want a substitute that melts better or has a different firmness.
So whether it's availability, cost, diet, or flavor, graviera cheese substitutes provide flexibility to adapt recipes to your needs.
Key Takeaway: Finding a graviera substitute allows flexibility regarding availability, budget, diet, flavor preferences, and ideal texture.
12 Best Graviera Cheese Substitutes
From other Mediterranean cheeses to Swiss and French varieties, here are 12 excellent graviera cheese stand-ins to try:
1. Halloumi
Halloumi is a brined Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk. With a high melting point, it maintains its shape when cooked, with a texture between mozzarella and rubber.
Despite the firmness, it has a mild, milky flavor with faint saltiness. This makes it a good graviera substitute in Greek and Mediterranean recipes like gyros and grilled vegetable platters needing Graviera's salty savor.
2. Manouri
Manouri comes from Greece and pairs beautifully with graviera as a substitute. It's a fresh white whey cheese with a creamy, spreadable texture.
Although soft, it holds its shape well when baked or grilled. Manouri boasts a light, refreshing citrusy tang complemented by a mild saltiness, similar to young graviera.
It works nicely in spanakopita, tiropita, or Greek salads needing graviera's smoothness and salty nutty notes.
3. Kefalotyri
Closely related to graviera, kefalotyri is another popular Greek sheep milk cheese. Riper varieties have a crumbly feta-like texture while younger kefalotyri is elastic with small holes, like young graviera.
It has a salty, tangy taste with hints of sweetness and nuts. Thanks to the similar brining process, kefalotyri makes an authentic-tasting substitute in baked Greek dishes or cheese boards.
4. Kasseri
Also spelled 'kasari,' this Greek sheep or goat's milk cheese has a flavor and texture profile comparable to graviera cheese. It features a smooth, elastic texture with scattered eyes or holes.
The taste of kasseri starts out mild, sweet and nutty as a young cheese, intensifying to a tangy saltiness as it ages. Its excellent melting properties make it a handy substitute in recipes like spanakopita or tiropita.
5. Pecorino Romano
For a more intensely flavored substitute, try Pecorino Romano - a hard Italian sheep milk cheese. Its flavor is noticeably sharper and saltier than graviera, with a firm granular texture when grated.
Thanks to the salty intensity, nutty notes, and grating quality, it makes a flavorful substitute for graviera in Greek pasta dishes, salads, vegetable bakes and meat platters.
6. Parmesan
Like Pecorino Romano, Parmesan offers another intensely salty, nutty sheep milk option. Parmesan has a hard, crumbly texture with crystalline crunch.
It works nicely grated over pastas, Greek salads, bakes, and share plates needing graviera's salty nuttiness. Blending it with milder cheeses helps balance the robust flavor.
7. Gruyère
Despite the French name, Swiss Gruyère makes an easily accessible and affordable substitute for graviera cheese. It has a comparable texture, from smooth and creamy when young to grainy and crumbly when aged longer.
Like graviera, Gruyère starts out with a mild, fruity, nutty sweetness as a younger cheese. As it ages, earthy, brown butter flavors intensify. Thanks to similar nutty sweetness and excellent melting properties, Gruyère fills in nicely for graviera whether baked, grilled or served fresh.
8. Emmental
Emmental is another nutty, sweet Swiss cheese that makes an excellent graviera alternative. It has the characteristic holes of Swiss cheese and a smooth, flexible texture.
While graviera is made from sheep milk, Emmental uses cow milk instead. However, it shares graviera's subtly sweet, nutty flavor notes. It melts superbly too, making it a handy substitute in baked Greek recipes like spanakopita.
9. Jarlsberg
Hailing from Norway, semi-soft Jarlsberg offers another excellent Swiss-style substitute for graviera. It shares a similar yellow color, dotted with small to medium-size holes.
Jarlsberg starts with a mild, sweet flavor as a young cheese, developing more prominent nutty notes as it ages. With a subtle flavor reminiscent of graviera and Swiss cheeses, it integrates nicely into Mediterranean recipes.
10. Edam
Edam cheese originated in the Netherlands as a semi-hard cow milk cheese. While the flavor differs from graviera, its smooth texture, firmness, and nutty notes make it a handy stand-in.
Young Edam is mild-tasting with a subtle nuttiness and hint of sweetness. Aged longer, Edam becomes firmer and more crumbly, with a more pronounced salty sharpness.
Edam works nicely for Greek recipes needing graviera's firm yet creamy texture. Try it in baked dishes like spanakopita and tiropita or combined with other cheeses for cheese platters.
11. Gouda
Another Dutch cheese, Gouda shares some textural similarities with graviera, including a smooth, firm texture that softens beautifully when baked.
Ranging from mild to sharply flavored depending on age, Gouda has a sweet, buttery taste rather than salty nuttiness. However, aged Gouda develops comparably complex flavors, working nicely baked into Greek recipes or on Mediterranean food platters.
12. Vegan Feta
For vegetarian, vegan, or lactose-intolerant diets, vegan feta cheese offers a handy non-dairy substitute with the saltiness of graviera. The most convincing options mimic feta's crumbly texture and tangy, salty flavor beautifully.
Made from nuts like cashews or coconut oil, vegan feta works superbly in SPANAKOPITA, salads, and other Greek dishes needing graviera's salty savor and crumbling texture.
Key Takeaway: Excellent graviera cheese substitutes include Halloumi, Manouri, Gruyère, and vegan feta for flavor, along with Emmental and Jarlsberg for texture.
How to Use Graviera Cheese Substitutes
Whether baking spanakopita or tossing a Greek salad, graviera cheese alternatives integrate seamlessly into recipes thanks to comparable textures and flavors. Here are some tasty ways to use substitutes:
Baked Greek Dishes
The smooth, melty texture of graviera cheese shines in baked Greek recipes. Substitutes like Kasseri, Emmental, Gruyère and Gouda replicate this beautifully in dishes like:
- Spanakopita - Filo pie with spinach and cheese
- Tiropita - Filo pie with cheese filling
- Kolokythoanthoi - Zucchini fritters
- Melitzanosalata - Baked eggplant dip/spread
Grilled Meat, Seafood and Veggies
Graviera's mild nutty sweetness and salty undertones complement grilled dishes excellently. Alternatives like Manouri, Halloumi, Kasseri and aged Gouda pair nicely with:
- Souvlaki - Meat skewers
- Grilled octopus or shrimp
- Grilled mushrooms, eggplant or zucchini
- Lamb chops or chicken
Greek Salads and Appetizers
Graviera's ability to crumble deliciously makes it perfect for Greek salads. Alternatives like vegan feta, Halloumi, kefalotyri and Manouri emulate this beautifully, crumbling over:
- Horiatiki - Traditional Greek salad
- Beetroot salad
- Roasted pepper and chickpea salad
- Tzatziki, melitzanosalata, taramosalata dips
Cheesecakes and Desserts
Thanks to its mild sweet flavor, graviera works nicely in Greek-inspired cheesecakes and sweets. Alternatives like cream cheese, ricotta, or soft goat's cheese provide smoothness and sweetness for:
- Basbousa semolina cake
- Galaktoboureko - Semolina custard pie
- Diples - Fried dough fritters with honey
- Baklava, kataifi, and other nut-based pastries
So whether baking, grilling, preparing salads, or making desserts, graviera cheese substitutes fit right into Mediterranean recipes.
Key Takeaway: Graviera substitutes like Kasseri, Gouda, kefalotyri and vegan feta replicate the original beautifully in baked Greek dishes, grilled food, salads and more.
FAQs
What is the best substitute for graviera cheese?
The best graviera cheese substitutes depend on whether you want to replicate the flavor or texture. For flavor, kefalotyri, Kasseri, Pecorino Romano or Parmesan work well. For texture, Emmental, Gruyère and Jarlsberg melt superbly like graviera.
Is there a vegetarian substitute for graviera?
Yes, excellent vegetarian options include the Greek cheese Manouri or brined Cypriot cheese Halloumi. For a vegan substitute, try brands of vegan feta cheese - the textures and salty flavors closely mimic real feta and graviera.
What cheese is similar to graviera?
Some of the most similar cheeses to graviera include the Greek cheeses Kasseri, kefalotyri and Manouri. Emmental and Gruyère also share nutty sweet flavor notes, while Jarlsberg provides texture similarities. Halloumi and vegan feta offer great substitutes for salty flavor.
Can I replace graviera with halloumi?
Yes, Halloumi makes an excellent graviera substitute thanks to its comparable brining process and resulting firm yet sliceable texture and salty flavor. It holds its shape beautifully when baked too. The only difference is Halloumi won't melt or get stringy like graviera.
Is graviera the same as Gruyere?
No, graviera and Gruyère cheeses differ - graviera is a Greek sheep milk cheese while Gruyère hails from Switzerland, made from cow milk instead. However, both share signature nutty, sweet flavor notes, so Gruyère integrates very well flavor-wise as a handy and affordable graviera substitute.
Conclusion
With its smooth, sliceable texture and nutty sweet flavor with briny notes, graviera cheese deserves its popularity in Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. However, authentic graviera can be tricky to source at times.
Luckily, excellent substitutes are available offering accessibility, reasonable prices, and tailoring to dietary needs or flavor preferences. Options range from the salty tang of vegan feta for texture to Manouri's mild citrus freshness replicating graviera's exact taste beautifully.